


Glad To Be Home

by AuroraShard



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Found Family, Multi, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21552874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraShard/pseuds/AuroraShard
Summary: While Laura is out of town, Natasha takes the kids apple picking. They decide to make a pie to give her when she returns.Nothing but OT3 fall fluff! (Well, there’s some feels!) These dorks all love each other and it’s great. The kids are older, but canon doesn't matter here in this fall wonderland.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	Glad To Be Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kiss_me_cassie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiss_me_cassie/gifts).



> For Kiss_Me_Cassie; I had this idea a month ago, and couldn’t help but think of you! Because of this fic idea, I had to go apple picking!

Clint lowered himself to the couch, laying his head back and rolling his neck. He was sore, but happy to have finally checked off most of his to-do list. The gardens were winterized, he had fixed the creaking gates, and the house was clean. Well, as clean as could be with three kids around. He had showered, and now dozed fitfully on the couch until he heard the van come up the driveway. He yawned and looked up right as Natasha opened the door and the kids rushed in.  


“Dad!” They all shouted, running over with varying levels of grace. The kids all had large bags of apples cradled in their arms, all packed perilously full. Natasha had that soft, fond smile on her face as she locked the door and snatched up a falling apple before it could hit the ground.  


“Daddy!” Nathaniel said, trundling over to flop almost on top of him.  


“Easy there, kiddo!” Clint said, sitting up and taking the bag from him. He set it on the coffee table and the others followed suit, crowding around him on the couch as Natasha returned the apple she had caught to the bags.  


“We went apple picking! We’re gonna make a pie for mom!”  


“It was mama’s idea!” Lila piped up, pulling a few leaves out of her hair. She beamed up at Natasha, who settled lightly on the coffee table.  


“Everyone was great at picking apples. We got, I think, at least one of every variety.”  


“Oh, I’ll get the other bag out of the car.” Cooper said, grabbing the keys off the table.  


“We got you a present, dad!” Clint smiled, ruffling Nathaniel’s hair. He grabbed a small apple from one bag, rubbed it on his shirt, and took a bite. It was still a little warm from the sun, and perfectly sweet. He closed his eyes and smiled, making an appreciative noise.  


“Save enough for mom’s pie!” Nathaniel said, patting Clint lightly on the face. Clint laughed, chomping on the apple. Nathaniel giggled and Lila and Natasha joined in as Clint chewed exaggeratedly, making loud chewing noises. Cooper laughed when he came back inside, watching as Clint leaned back over the edge of the couch, holding his apple out of reach of Nathaniel’s sticky hands. Cooper locked the door behind him and came back to the living room. He rifled through the bag for a moment as Clint finished the apple, sitting back up and roughhousing with Nathaniel.  


“We also got some other snacks, dad. We got you a turnover, and we got a jug of cider and cider donuts, too.” Cooper said, and Clint smiled.  


“Hope you didn’t give them too much sugar, Tasha!” He said with a wink. She laughed, winking in return.  


“Well, we ate some donuts and had some cider, so not too much. Why don’t we all wash up and get started on dinner and pie?” Natasha said, standing and stretching. Clint rose, too, coming over to wrap Natasha in a hug, kissing the top of her head. He huffed out a breath as the kids all joined in and he laughed, trying to keep the apple core in his hand from ending up in someone’s hair. They all embraced for a minute before Clint bundled them all to the kitchen to wash up. He tossed the apple remains into their compost bucket and washed up, laughing as Cooper blew soap bubbles at Lila.  


“Alright, guys, no bubble fights!” Clint said. Natasha hugged him from behind and they rested against each other while the kids all finished cleaning up. “Why don’t you guys start getting the apples peeled and I’ll get the stew on.” Natasha got the kids settled at the table with the peelers and the apple slicer, washing up a bowl of apples.  


“That should be enough, but I’m happy to wash up more for snacking. It’ll be a few hours before dinner.” She said, looking up from Laura’s family pie recipe. She leaned back against the counter, watching Clint get the vegetables prepped. His finesse in the field translated well to his knife work in the kitchen, and she marvelled, as always, at how his hands were so versatile; be they chopping carrots, readying a shot in the field, or holding Laura’s hand, or brushing Lila’s hair. She couldn’t resist coming over to give him another gentle kiss as he washed a few carrots, much to the horror of the kids.  


“Ew, gross! Kissing!” Shouted Cooper, fake gagging.  


“If you’re not nice, you won’t get any pie.” Clint sing-songed, rolling his eyes at Natasha as he turned back to the cutting board. She laughed.  


“Why don’t you tell Clint about all the fun we had?” Natasha suggested, swiping a piece of carrot off of the cutting board. She scooped the carrot peels into the compost bucket as Clint ducked into the fridge to get some celery.  


“Dad, we gotta go back with mom! It was so much fun! They had all these apples, and pumpkins, and Mama said we couldn't get a pumpkin yet ‘cuz it’s still a bit too early, but they had hayrides and cider and this big thing that you turned and it peeled the apples! An’ there was a cow and a pony and a whole herd of goats!” Nathaniel said, pausing in his apple coring to gesticulate wildly. Clint laughed, glancing over.  


“Yeah? Did you guys pet the animals?”  


“We were only allowed to pet the goats, but we could give them some little pellets and they tickled my hand!” Nathaniel said, smiling ear to ear. Cooper grimaced,  


“They were cute, but they just get slobber all over everything. Now I know why you wouldn’t let mom buy those goats last year.” Natasha laughed, pulling up a photo of the kids, covered in goat slobber. She showed it to Clint, who laughed.  


“We should get that framed for the living room. Maybe our holiday card photo.” He said contemplatively, tapping one finger on his lips as he thought. The table erupted into laughter and rejections. “Well, we’ll see what mom thinks.”  


“So we finally got into the orchards to get the apples, and they had so many types, dad!” Lila said, flicking a strip of skin off the peeler. “They had samples of these really yummy heirloom apples, and a couple of cross-breed varieties, too. We got a whole mix of them.”  


Natasha set a mixing bowl on the counter opposite to Clint, getting out ingredients for the pie crust. She got to work making the dough for the crust, bopping Clint on the nose with some flour. He laughed, shaking his head like a dog and getting a fine dusting of flour all over Natasha. She laughed, playfully pushing Clint back. He kissed her forehead and she shook her head, turning back to her crust preparation. Suddenly Nathaniel got up and scurried over to the bag on the table.  


"I almost forgot! Look, Dad!" Nathaniel rushed over, holding an apple up. It was perfectly shaped and shiny, with no blemishes to be seen.  


"Cooper saw it and Mama let me sit on her shoulders so I could get it!" He beamed, delicately setting the apple on the half wall separating the kitchen from the living room. "We're all gonna share it when mom is home." He said matter-of-factly. Clint smiled.  


"Great idea, Nate."  


While they worked, they swapped stories of adventures from the orchard, and Clint filled the others in on what he got done. With the stew on to simmer, they all helped assemble the pie, mixing in spices and helping to lower on the top crust. Natasha used a small knife to make leaves out of the extra dough, and the kids decorated the crust with them.  


Finally the pie was ready for the oven, and Clint set it in to bake.  


"Is the chicken ready?!" Clint hollered, and they all cheered as Cooper held up their chicken shaped kitchen timer. He twisted its base to the correct time, and they set it on the counter, watching it tick down.  


They all washed up and Clint stirred the stew, inhaling in the warm smells as he did so. Clint closed his eyes for a moment, marveling in the feeling of peace he felt, knowing that his kids and partner were here, warm and safe, and that his other partner was on her way home to join them. Natasha came next to him to put on a kettle of water, and they embraced, turning to watch the kids run outside and around the back yard, hooting and hollering.  


"I missed you guys while you were gone." Clint whispered. "Alone time was nice, but I was so glad to see you come in through that door." Natasha laughed, kissing him.  


"Going soft, Agent Barton." They rested their foreheads together for a minute, reveling in the other's touch. "Pie should be done in a bit. Want to help me make biscuits?" Clint nodded, and between the two of them they got the biscuits ready with minimal throwing of flour.  


"I'm gonna have the kids shower and change so I can throw in a load of laundry. Laura just texted that she landed, so she'll be here in a bit." Clint said, looking up from his phone. Natasha grabbed hers to text Laura back, grin spreading across her face as she read Laura's text. Clint adored watching Natasha when she got a text from Laura; her face lit up in a way it didn't often in their line of work. Her grin stayed long after she had replied, instead just staring softly at the text and selfie Laura had sent from the airport. Clint couldn't resist darting over to hug her again.  


"She'll be home soon." She said, looking up at him. "And we still have kids to wrangle. I'll watch the stove, go get 'em." She settled into a chair, cleaning one of her knives of an orchard's worth of apple juice and peel residue.  


Clint ducked outside, jumping to catch the ball Cooper and Lila were throwing.  


"Let's wash up, guys. Mom landed and will be here in a bit. I wanna get a couple loads of laundry done, so let's all change and shower." The kids groaned, but complied, returning their baseballs and mitts to the shed. Clint ruffled everyone's hair as they filed inside.  


"Leave your clothes outside the bathroom when you're done, I'll grab them as I go through." Clint said as he headed to the master bedroom, grabbing their various blankets and sheets. He bundled them up to wash, and replaced the sheets, switching to the soft lavender ones Laura loved. He wanted Laura to be able to relax after travelling; it always made her anxious, which in turn set off Client's protective streak.  


He rejoined Natasha in the kitchen, checking on the stew and pausing to smell the pie, now cooling on the counter. She smiled softly at him as he did so, and he kissed her before joining her at the kitchen table. He could hear one of the showers running and the boys goofing off somewhere upstairs. Clint smiled contemplatively at Natasha.  


"What a week. If you told me 15, 20 years ago that this would be my life? I'd never have believed it. Two amazing women, three pain-in-the-ass kids? How could I have been so lucky?" His hands slid to cover Natasha's, shifting and rubbing over the delicate silver band she wore when she was safe and off the clock.  


"You deserve it, you know. We both do, hard as it can be to believe sometimes. We're all here for each other, no matter what. It's amazing to be so lucky. So blessed." Natasha replied softly, eyes not leaving their hands. She flipped her hands over, letting their fingers entwine. “It’s taken me a while to accept, you know. That I deserve this. I felt like I could never outweigh my ledger, that I could never deserve something like this. But...we all deserve joy. And love, too. There’s nobody I’d rather spend the rest of my days with than our family here.”  


She glanced up then, blinking tears from her eyes. Clint did the same, giving her hands a gentle squeeze.  


“We’ll always have your back, Natasha. We’ll always love you. Thank you for telling me. Can I hug you?” He asked, finger again tracing over her wedding ring. She sniffled wetly and nodded, and he rose to embrace her, breathing in the scent of her shampoo and blinking the tears from his eyes. Her arms came up to wrap around him as much as they could from where she was sitting. She laughed.  


“What a team we all are, huh?” Clint huffed a laugh and kissed her head lightly before pulling away. He leaned to grab them both tissues, and they were washing their hands as a car pulled into the driveway. They paused, Clint shifting to check the panel on their security system. He broke into a wide grin, grabbing Natasha’s hand and leading her to the door. They could hear the kids upstairs, but they didn’t call out quite yet.  


Clint opened the door, beaming as Laura grabbed her suitcases from the car. He and Natasha grabbed them from her, leading her inside. They shut and locked the door and set the bags down, finally all embracing. Laura collapsed into the hug, laughing as her partners hugged her tightly.  


“I missed you guys.” She said simply, pressing soft kisses to her partners' shoulders.  


“We missed you, too. So glad you’re home now.” Natasha said, leaning back to give Laura a once-over. “How was the trip?”  


They pulled apart and Clint helped Laura move her luggage inside, out of the way. Laura smiled, sinking onto the couch.  


“It was good. It was nice to see everyone again, and it was nice to just have some time off. They want to do another long weekend trip like this next year. My only stipulation was somewhere warm next time!” Natasha laughed, ducking into the kitchen to take out the biscuits as the timer beeped. Clint grabbed Laura’s backpack and ducked upstairs, dropping it off in the master bedroom.  


“Guys, dinner’s almost ready, come help us set the table.” The kids shuffled out of their rooms, and Clint waited until they were heading downstairs before smiling.  


“Mom!” He heard them all shout as they entered into the living room, and he could hear Laura’s laughter as they all rushed over to give her hugs and kisses. Clint headed to the kitchen, helping Natasha set the table and dish up stew. The kids were keeping up a steady stream of chatter even after they were washed up, seated, and served. Laura listened intently, nodding and asking questions when she could get a word in. Natasha got her phone out as need to provide photos, such as the one of the kids covered in goat slobber.  


“Alright now, let’s let mom talk. You guys need to eat.” Clint teased. Laura filled in the family on her vacation adventures, like the deer she saw and the flock of turkeys that startled her one morning as she drank her coffee on the porch.  


“They all came trotting around the corner! I just about spilled my coffee!” She said, and the whole table laughed with her. “So I made quite a ruckus, and I don’t think cousin Ariel will let me live that one down for awhile!”  


“Wait!” Nathaniel said, wiggling out of his chair and running into the kitchen. He returned with the apple slicer and his perfect apple clutched delicately in his hands. He presented it to Laura, who took it with equal care. “We found the perfect apple and we’re all gonna share it.” Laura smiled, ruffling his hair.  


“Of course, darling, thank you for waiting until I got home.” She set the apple on the empty biscuit plate, wiggling the slicer for a moment until it was lined up just right. She pushed it down with a satisfying thump, and then the family all grabbed their slices, letting Nathaniel take the first bite.  


“Mmm!” He said, smiling. “I’m glad it’s so yummy and that we’re all here to share it.” Everyone nodded in agreement.  


“Oh, dad! It’s a Hawkeye apple!” Cooper said.  


“We had to get it when we saw that’s what it was called!” Lila chimed in. “Can we save the seeds and plant them?” Clint nodded.  


“Sounds like a great idea. Put them in the fridge for now and we can do some research on what to do tomorrow. Let’s get everything cleaned up and then we can have dessert.”

They chatted as they cleaned and finished the laundry, catching each other up on the last few days, and reviewing new additions to the family calendar. Their big whiteboard calendar was growing more cluttered by the day with events and club meetings.  


“Let’s go sit on the porch!” Lila suggested, grabbing her slice of pie and leaning to lick some of the whipped cream off the top.  


“Head on out, guys, I’ll grab some blankets.” Natasha said, passing her pie to Clint. He herded the kids outside and onto the porch. Laura lingered in the kitchen, setting down her pie so that she could envelop Natasha in a hug, pressing a kiss to her lips.  


“I missed this.” She said softly, smiling as Natasha ran her hands over her arms. It was a habit she developed from a lifetime of fieldwork, always double checking her teammates for injuries.  


Natasha nodded, pulling Laura closer again and resting her head on her shoulder. They paused there a moment, savoring a bit of silence.  


"We all missed you while you were gone. But I'm glad you had a good time. Everyone deserves a break." Natasha said softly. Laura smiled, giving her a gentle kiss.  


"Maybe soon we can take a trip, you, Clint, and I. We can see if my parents can watch the kiddos, and we can go somewhere fun. Maybe a nice beach or a cabin by a lake somewhere." Natasha smiled and they pulled apart.  


"That would be amazing. I'm sure Clint will be on board. I'm going to grab the blankets, I'll be right back." Natasha grabbed their well worn flannel blankets from the cupboard, heading outside with Laura. The kids' faces were already covered in whipped cream and crumbs, and Laura laughed, passing out napkins. They all settled on the couches and chairs, covering themselves with the blankets.  


Clint resumed the constellation stories he had been telling, pointing out how the same stars had different stories from different cultures. He had picked up many while on assignments, and he loved to share them. Cooper chimed in with facts and stories he knew, and soon they were all coming up with their own stories and constellations.  


Laura found herself dozing, Lila curled against her on one side and Natasha on the other. She blinked awake as Natasha nudged her.  


"I think it's time we all get to bed, it's been a long day." She said, gathering everyone's dishes. She offered Laura a hand, helping her up. The kids helped grab the blankets and they all shuffled inside. Clint sent Laura to get ready for bed, and he and Natasha cleaned up and made sure everyone brushed their teeth and got tucked in. Laura joined them for the round of goodnight kisses, and soon enough the kids were all tucked in bed.  


They headed off to bed themselves; All snuggled together, they relaxed in the warmth and comfort of one another, safe and sound. They tangled together, giving each other a few final kisses and smiles before drifting off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! It was such a blast to write this adorable family having fun together. They just deserve all the love and joy they can get. If canon won't give it to them, I will. Thanks for reading!


End file.
